The flamboyant colours of summer were turning into the rich brown hues of autumn. The leaves danced delicately with the wind from the branches to the ground. The cold wind was as calm as it could be, and everything that the sun touched seemed like it had been kissed to be gold.
Marlene and Sirius were lying on the grass underneath the beech tree where they would spend some quiet time in each other's company often. Marlene's eyes were closed, her hands resting on her stomach, and Sirius wondered if she was sleeping.
Sirius turned on his stomach, resting his chin on his left hand, he reached for the small white wildflowers near their resting body which even though were in full bloom at the moment, were soon to wither. He plucked a flower and placed it on Marlene's hair that were spread out above her head. Plucking another and then another, he started decorating her hair with tiny white flowers like stars in the sky.
Marlene's eyes flung open and she turned her face towards Sirius. "What are you doing?" she asked in her sweet voice.
"I am making art in your hair," Sirius replied, his eyes focused on Marlene's hair, and his hands working delicately.
"Is that so?" Marlene chuckled, closing her eyes again.
Sirius continued putting in a dozen tiny white flowers in Marlene's hair and once he was happy with the results, he smiled to himself and his eyes drifted towards her face. His fingertips brushed Marlene's cheeks, and she smiled before opening her eyes.
"I am done," Sirius told her, lying down beside her on his back once again. When their eyes met, neither of them could drop their gaze, leaning in closer, wanting more.
"Sirius," Marlene whispered, she could feel her ears starting to heat up.
"What?" Sirius's intense eyes gleamed .
"We should get back to the castle, it's getting late," she informed him, even though she didn't want to leave their place of solitude, they had one last class for the day to attend.
"I don't want to leave," Sirius's voice was earnest, a small frown settled on his lips.
Marlene sat up first, and when she did, the flowers that Sirius had arranged in her hair, slid down her tresses and rained down on Sirius's face, making him chuckle. Hearing the sound of his laughter made Marlene smile too.
"Neither do I, but we have to go," she pulled onto his arm, urging him to get up and he did.
Standing up from the ground, he offered her his hand, which she took with delight and Sirius helped her up. Intertwining their fingers together for a moment, they gave each other a small smile, before dropping their hands. Sirius handed Marlene her books and then picked up his own and they both walked back to the castle.
"Can we go back there or the Sundial garden during the weekend?" Sirius asked her. They were walking to the greenhouse behind the castle for their herbology class.
"Of course," Marlene nodded. She enjoyed spending time with Sirius no matter if they were talking about something, or sitting in silence. It was never uncomfortable with Sirius.
As promised they went to the Sundial garden the following weekend, they had finished their homework by afternoon to spend some time together during the evening.
"I want to know more about you," Sirius started the conversation. They were taking a walk around the Sundial garden, neither of them wanting to sit down yet.
"What do you want to know?" Marlene questioned back, looking at Sirius for a brief moment, finding his eyes already on her.
"Tell me about your family," when Sirius noticed a small smile creeping onto Marlene's pink lips, he knew she had a wonderful family, unlike his own.
"My family?" Marlene chuckled, looking at Sirius from under her lashes, he nodded like a child with a grin.
"My mother is a witch, she was the only child of my grandparents. My father met her after she graduated from Hogwarts, he had moved into the house near my grandparent's house, where my mother was living. They fell in love and my mother told him she wasn't a normal human being, she was petrified that he would run away; it was astonishing, he took it in a stride." Marlene chuckled, "I have an older brother, he is a wizard too, and a younger brother, who isn't a wizard."
"How far apart are you and your siblings? We've never heard of your brother in school?" there was a quizzical expression on Sirius's face.
"He is two years older than I am, but he didn't study at Hogwarts, he went to Durmstrang Institute," Marlene noticed the puzzled look on Sirius's face, "My grandparents are purebloods, they always wanted my mother to go to Durmstrang Institute, but couldn't bring themseleves to send their only child there, so, when my brother was born, they insisted that he go."
"Why didn't you go to Durmstrang?" even the thought of never meeting Marlene made Sirius miserable, but he asked out of curiosity.
"My mother complied, because she cannot say no to her parents, but she was always anxious with my brother so far away. She made sure I went to Hogwarts," Marlene replied with a shrug.
"Don't you miss your brother?" Sirius asked, but judging from Marlene's face, he already knew the answer.
"I do, but I know at least he is safe," Marlene let out a loud sigh, and then gave Sirius a tight smile.
The two continued walking in silence, until Marlene stopped and turned towards Sirius, making him stop dead in his tracks. He watched her in amusement, wondering what was she contemplating.
"I want to ask you something too," Marlene mumbled, she was fidgeting with her fingers.
"Sure," Sirius nodded, he wanted to hold her hands, to stop her nervous tic.
"I've wanted to ask you this for a long time," Marlene continued babbling, "But I am not sure if I should, if you think I am crossing a line – you can stop me."
"Don't worry," Sirius assured her, he took his small hands in his own and gave her an assuring smile. He knew it for a fact that she didn't know anything about his full moon disappearances, given that he was always around till dinner and it had been only 2 full moons since they had started hanging out around each other this often, she couldn't have thought it was odd for him to go to bed early on 2 days. Then what could be her question?
"Why – do – do you have – scars?" Sirius had never anticipated this question. When did she even see his scars? Sirius became self-conscious of his scars. He had never been comfortable with his scars. He wrapped his arms around himself. Sirius now understood, why Remus hated when people looked at him.
"When did you see my scars?" he questioned back, his brows were furrowed together.
"I – when you were hurt – I was in the infirmary," Marlene answered, looking down at her feet. She shouldn't have asked the question, it was a thoughtless thing to do! Now, judging by Sirius's expressions, it was definitely a sensitive topic.
"Did you enjoy what you saw?" Sirius jested, and Marlene looked up at him wide-eyed.
"What?" she exclaimed, why would she enjoy looking at his scars? They looked painful and she was distorted. There hasn't been a single day when she didn't try to understand how he got the scars and contemplate if she should ask him.
"You saw me without a shirt, did you enjoy that?" A smirk was playing on Sirius's lips and Marlene rolled her eyes as she shook her head.
"I wasn't admiring your body, I only saw your scars," she told him earnestly.
"My family is very different from normal families," Sirius spoke in a low voice, looking away in a distance.
His family? They gave him the scars? Marlene's eyes widened, and her heart dropped to her stomach. Why would someone's family hurt them was beyond her understanding.
"I am sure you must've heard about my family," Sirius chuckled, "the whole school has."
"A little," Marlene lied. She knew as much that the noble house of Black believed in keeping their bloodline pure to a point where they were regarded as having fanatic ideologies about it.
Sirius took a deep breath, "I earned every scar for not confirming to their ideologies."
'That is crazy!' Marlene thought. Sirius hadn't done anything wrong, as a matter of fact it was his family that was wrong.
"Are you regretting dating me now?" Sirius jested, noticing the scowl on Marlene's face.
"No," Marlene pushed out her lower lip in a small pout and stepped closer to Sirius. "Besides, we haven't been on any official dates yet."
"Would you like to go out with me during our next trip to Hogsmeade?" Sirius asked, there was a playful smile on his face.
"As if you have to ask," Marlene chuckled, and then her face turned serious. "Do you still live with your family?"
"No, I left home last summer," Sirius replied, earning a sigh of relief from Marlene.
"Where do you live then?" she was intrigued.
"James's," Sirius replied with a shrug. The love and respect for James in Sirius voice was evident, and he in no way tried to mask it.
Is that why the four of them were so close? Especially James and Sirius? Marlene was happy that Sirius had loving people in his life, especially someone like James.
"Did it hurt?" Marlene asked after a long pause, her eyes landed on Sirius's torso and then looked back into his eyes.
"More than I'd like to admit," Sirius had never been this honest about his injuries to anyone, not even his friends.
He wanted to smile when he watched Marlene's lips turn into a frown, her brows were knitted together and it seemed like she was going to cry. Without any warning, she moved in closer, and wrapped her arms around Sirius's torso, resting her head on his chest.
For a moment, Sirius froze, his mouth hung open, and his heart skipped a beat. He slowly wrapped one arm around Marlene's shoulders and placed his other hand on the back of her head, resting his cheek on the crown of her head, he couldn't help but smile.
One evening when the Marauders were having dinner in the Great Hall, James noticed Peter's continued gaze on the Slytherin table. Curious about why Peter kept looking over his shoulder, James decided to ask him.
"Wormtail," he spoke making Peter jump, "What happen? Why do you keep looking over there?" James flicked his head in the direction of the Slytherin table.
Peter was immediately flushed and he stammered, "No – no – reason."
"Seems like there is a good enough reason if you keep looking there every two seconds," James raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Is there something you are hiding Wormtail?" Sirius jested, he couldn't keep the smirk off his face.
"Okay, promise me, you wouldn't make a massive deal out of it – especially here," Peter looked at his friends, who were now curiously leaning towards Peter.
"We won't," Remus assured him, all of them wondered if someone was bothering Peter and if that was the case, why hadn't he said anything about it?
"There is a fifth year student Olivia, I've asked her out," he whispered, and his cheeks immediately turned pink.
"When did that happen?!" James exclaimed, unable to keep his voice down, and earned the attention of several students.
"I met her during the astronomy club –" Peter started, but was immediately interrupted by Sirius.
"Is that what you've been doing every Wednesday night wormtail?" he jested, making Peter more flushed, if that was possible!
"No wonder he likes the club so much," Remus joined in, making James and Sirius chuckle.
"She's brilliant, and so knowledgable, it is interesting talking to her," Peter told his friends, and they could hear his genuine interest in Olivia.
"Wait – is she a Slytherin?" Sirius suddenly grew solemn.
"Yes," Peter replied nonchalantly.
"Pureblood?" Sirius continued his interrogation, Peter gave him a sharp nod.
"You traitor!" Sirius jested, but Peter's face only grew more puzzled.
"Why? She isn't like other Slytherins," Peter's brows furrowed together, and his face fell.
"You mean she isn't a death eater? Or as ambitious? Cunning?" James joined in on the banter. Both Remus and Sirius chuckled light-heartedly.
"She isn't a death eater, and what is wrong with being ambitious?" Peter repelled. He crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"With the war going –" Sirius started, but stopped when Peter pushed his plate away.
"What? With the war going on she is sure to be evil? Why can't you all be supportive? I was supportive about your crush on Lily," Peter looked at James and then turned towards Sirius, "or your crush on Marlene."
"Can you not think of one pure-blood who isn't how everyone else thinks they are? Not one?!" Peter exclaimed in disbelief. Of course, there was one right here, a part of this very conversation.
He got up from the bench quickly, "This is why I wasn't telling you. Your prejudices!" he mumbled, storming out of the Great Hall, leaving the other three Marauders stunned.
"That was the first time I've seen him angry," Sirius spoke after a long pause.
"We've hurt his feelings," James frowned, shaking his head.
"I reckon we took it too far," Remus agreed.
"But a Slytherin?" Sirius asked, he knew he was being unfair, he had never met or spoken to this girl and just because of his terrible experinces with his family who all happen to be in Slytherin and the wannabe death eaters, he shouldn't have judged so quickly.
"Wormtail is right you know, not every Slytherin is bad," Remus mumbled in a low voice.
"We are too mean sometimes, especially with Wormtail, he is always the butt of all our jokes," James dropped his head, staring at the table.
"Let's go talk to him," Sirius spoke after a long pause, pushing away his plate as well.
"Yes, we'll apologise," James nodded.
Remus opened the door of their dormitory as quietly as possible, walking in, with James and Sirius right behind him. Sirius shut the door and they crowded near Peter's bed, where he was lying, with his eyes closed and his brows knitted together, obviously not asleep.
"Wormtail – are you sleeping?" Sirius sat next to him on his bed.
"Yes," Peter replied grumpily, and the Marauders had to supress their chuckles.
"We're sorry, we shouldn't have said what we did," James spoke as he sat on the other side of Peter's bed and Remus joined him.
"We were so mean to you, please forgive us," Sirius kept his hand over Peter's hand that were closed in a fist and Peter's eyes flung open.
"She's not a bad person," Peter's voice was barely a whisper, his eyes shifting from one face to another.
"We believe you, and you were right, being a Slytherin doesn't make you evil," Remus assured him.
Peter sat up in his bed, and gave his friends a brief smile and said, "I am sorry – I got angry."
"You shouldn't apologise, you weren't wrong," Remus quickly said, shaking his head.
"Tell us about her Wormtail," James gave Peter a warm smile.
"And we want to be introduced to her you know," Sirius added.
"You – you'd like to – meet her?" Peter asked, his smile slowly turned into a grin.
"We've met the love of their lives," Remus pointed towards James and Sirius, "It's only fair we meet your's."
"Triple date then," Peter chuckled.
"No, you are wrong Wormtail, you see, Evans and Prongs are only on talking terms, no matter how much they want to snog each other," Sirius jested, making James narrow his eyes.
"Honestly Prongs, ask her out," Remus encouraged James.
"I am not going to ask Lily out again," James shook his head.
"Ever?" Peter asked, he didn't believe his friend.
"Ever," James confirmed with a nod.
"Why?" Remus's brows creased together.
"I am not going to make a fool of myself," James replied with a loud huff.
"Of course Prongs, because you didn't make a fool of yourself that last 300 times you asked – in a lot of weird ways might I add, like shouting on top of your lungs when McGonagall asked you what would bring your attention back to the class – but now, that is your concern," Sirius laughed with his other two friends.
"I realised she doesn't like that," James defended himself poorly.
"And what made you have the eureka moment?" Remus jested.
"I am sure it was the million hexes," Peter replied from between a fit of giggles.
"I respect her tremendously for that. Especially when she made his head so big that his glasses couldn't fit," Sirius laughed.
"She said now his head was as big as his ego," Peter nodding, laughing with Sirius.
"When you have kids Prongs, I am telling them everything," Sirius grinned happily.
"What if they aren't with Lily?" Peter asked, snorting loudly.
"Especially then," Sirius shrugged, making James groan.
"Wait – do you think there is a possibility I could have kids with Lily?" James's eyes widened, he looked frantically from Sirius to Peter to Remus.
"Seeing as you two are on only talking terms, I say it's highly unlikely to have kids that way," Remus replied with a straight face, making Sirius and Peter erupt in a roar of laughter.